20 October 2014

Gentlefolk,

It has been a disrupted week, hence the delay in completing this post.

The weather has been great, and I managed to get in some good bike rides with colleagues Paul and Michael.

At Golden Beach with riding buddies, Michael Christensen (from Detroit)  and Paul Finkbeiner (from Philly).

View of Golden Beach, about 8 km from our campus.  A few people were in the water, but the warm weather is almost done, and not many people at the beach now.  The hills in the distance are at Qingdao City, about 25 km away, on the other side of Jiaozhou Bay.

With my bike outside the entrance to the underground garage at the side of our new residential building.  The sign says "Air defence shelter".  I hope we never need to use it, but at least it's close!

Qingdao TV

The team from Qingdao TV (journalist Zhao Qing Li and cameraman Yin Yan Wei) returned and we spent the best part of two days with them.  This time they filmed in our apartment, interviewed Vera, and took shots of me cycling around the campus and Tang Dao Wan bay.  Then they filmed one of my Oral English classes.

The next day we went to the International Sailing Centre in Qingdao (where the 2008 Olympic sailing events were held) and they took more shots of us wandering around.

If I understood correctly, I am one of 12 foreigners Qingdao TV is profiling. They will air the program during the Spring Festival in February 2015.  Hope it's all worthwhile..... they must have 6 hours or more of filming which will be edited down to a 10 minute profile. Here are some photos.

In our new apartment Journalist Zhao Qing Li interviewing two former students Bu Ping (Blair) and Li Su (Lydia).

Journalist Zhao Qing Li interviewing Zhu Shan (Susie) who translated my book 'It's all about the students' into Chinese.

Cameraman Yin Yan Wei (centre) took videos of Paul (a teacher from America) and I riding along Tang Dao Wan.

Paul and I riding along the esplanade of Tang Dao Wan bay, opposite our residential building during the filming for the TV show.  It was a beautiful autumn day.  I often ride my bicycle around the bay - we are very fortunate to have this wonderful facility.  It get quite busy on weekends, but during the week is quiet so great for cycling.

The International Sailing Centre in Qingdao, where the sailing events were held during the 2008 Olympics.

Qingdao's 'sister cities' around the world.

A view of the city skyline of Qingdao, from the International Sailing Centre.

Wedding anniversary

We celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary on 18 october 2014 and invited some of the other teachers for dinner in our apartment.  As usual, Vera cooked up a storm!

Celebrating our wedding anniversary, from left: Michael Christensen; Paul Finkbeiner; Steve McCune and his wife Amy, Maria Schlaefer, and Vera.  We drank a toast to absent friends: Ben & Sherry, Barbara, Nelly, and Mathew.

A 'selfie'.  I say 41 years of marital bliss; Vera says 2 life sentences! Whatever, it has been a wonderful time.

Student friends

We invited Liu Fan Qiang (Oliver) and his girlfriend Hong Ying (Faith) to lunch to celebrate Oliver's admission into the Master's program at the Chinese Foreign Affairs University in Beijing.  He worked hard for this, but still a very impressive achievement!

Lunch with Oliver and Faith.

17th Asian Games (Asiad)

I doubt many of you in Australia or in America or in Europe were aware that the 17th Asian Games were held in Incheon, South Korea from 19 September to 4 October 2014.

Almost 10,000 athletes competed in 439 events in 36 different sports (comprising 28 Olympic sports and 8 other sports - cricket, squash, ten pin bowling, baseball, kabaddi, karate, sepak takraw, and wushu).

All 45 countries and regions in the Olympic Council of Asia were represented, extending from Japan in the East to Lebanon in the West.  China sent the largest contingent (894 competitors), Brunei the smallest (11 competitors).

China topped the medal count, for the 9th consecutive Games.  37 countries won at least one medal. Cambodia won its first-ever gold medal (in taekwondo). 14 world records were broken: in archery, shooting and weightlifting.

Top 5 countries in 17^th Asian Games

Country	No. in team	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total medals
China	894	151	108	83	342
South Korea	833	79	71	84	234
Japan	718	47	76	77	200
Kazakhstan	415	28	23	33	84
Iran	282	21	18	18	57

Controversial issues: womens basketball did not allow any head covering (including hijab), so the Qatari team pulled out; Indian boxer Sarita Devi refused to accept the Bronze medal, as she believed she had beaten the South Korean fighter who went on the win Silver (the Indians accused local judges of bias).

Six competitors (including two Gold Medallists from China and Malaysia) failed drug tests and were sent packing.

Incheon built fine sporting facilities for this event and organised impressive Opening and Closing ceremonies, but the crowds were very disappointing which led some commentators to question the future of the Asian Games.

A similar debate followed the Commonwealth Games which were hosted by Scotland in the middle of this year.  From my observation, they generated little real interest or enthusiasm in Australia.

The Olympics, of course, are in a category of their own, and now-a-days there are World Championships in many sports as well.  My own feeling is that the Commonwealth Games have passed their 'use-by date', and I suspect the Asian Games are in the same boat.

Regardless of what I think, the next Asian Games will be held in Jakarta, and the Commonwealth Games at the Gold Coast, both in 2018.

Despite their impressive medal haul, there has been much lamenting in the Chinese media at their lack of success in the "big ball sports" which have huge followings in China: football (soccer), basketball, and volleyball.  Both the mens and womens teams failed to impress.   This was seen as a big wake-up call for the Olympics in Rio in two years.

The mascots of the 17th Asian Games, Incheon South Korea, 19 September to 4 October 2014

Psy of Gangnam fame performed at the Opening Ceremony.

China's Sun Yang won the Men's 400m and 1,500m freestyle events (he smashed Ian Thorpe's 1,500 record at the London Olympics).  I am intrigued by Sun's swimming style as he hardly seems to kick.  China unearthed a sprint champion, 21 year old Ning Ze Tao who bagged 4 gold medals.  Both Sun and Ning train in Australia.

200m freestyle ... the one that got away ... Sun Yang was beaten at the post by Japan's Kosuke Hagino (who took home a total of 7 medals, including 4 gold, which earned him the title of Most Valuable Player at the Asiad).  Third was local favorite Park Tae Hwan.

China's Lin Dan beat Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei in the Badminton semi-final 22-20, 12-21, 21-9.  They have been great rivals for years.

Lin Dan went on to beat compatriot Chen Long in the Badminton final, 12-21, 21-16, 21-16.  For many, left handed Lin, now 31 years old, is the greatest badminton player ever.   He has won 2 Olympic golds (2008 & 2012); 5 World Championships; and 5 All England Championships.

Teams from Nepal and Lebanon led the Competitors Parade at the Closing ceremony of the 17th Asian Games on 4 October 2014.

South Korean girl band Sistar performed at the Closing Ceremony.

September 2014 events 

As you know, I like to do a summary of important/interesting news events which take place each month.   I am hoping that, in later years, I will be able to look back at these monthly summaries and they will help me to recall the key events which took place at that time in China and internationally.

Below is a brief summary of some of the highlights for September 2014.  

Usually I compile the summary at the beginning of the following month, but the September summary has been delayed.  Vera & I got back to the campus on 8 September, just in time for the start of the new academic year. Vera went to the Post Office to start a new subscription to the China Daily (my main source of news related to China) but they would only start the new subscription from 1 October.  I managed to scrounge copies of the China Daily sometimes, but it was intermittent. 

Of course I had to focus on my new classes, and preparing lesson plans.  Then towards the end of September we moved to our new apartment. So ‘news’ took a back seat for much of the month.  Nevertheless, I want to include at least a list of some of the main events, so here goes.

Events which made the news in China in September 2014.

Note: these news items were sourced from The China Daily newspaper in September 2014.  Actual events usually occurred a day or two before the date shown.  Currency is US$, and the exchange rate I used for September 2014 is US$1 = Yuan 6.13.

(a)   International

2 Sept	Pakistan: Protests against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, led by Imran Khan.   Army retakes Govt TV station in Islamabad from protesters.
3 Sept	Editorial about the ‘close encounter’ on 19 August between a US Navy reconnaissance plane and a Chinese  jet fighter,  220 km from the coast of Hainan. The American military protested that it was just a ‘normal mission’.  Can you imagine the reaction if Chinese military planes flew that close to the USA?
	Ebola outbreak in West Africa: Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.
	EU considering additional economic sanctions against Russia, but divided views.
	World Economic Forum published its ranking of ‘global competitiveness’ based  on 12 criteria including macroeconomic environment, infrastructure, labour market efficiency, financial markets, technology, etc. Top ten countries, in descending order: Switzerland; Singapore; USA; Finland; Germany; Japan; Hong Kong; Netherlands; United Kingdom; Sweden.  China was ranked #28.
4 Sept	Second beheading of an American by Islamic State (IS). First James Foley, now Steven Sotloff.  Growing pressure on President Obama to act.  A few days later he authorised bombing of IS targets, initially in Iraq, later added Syria.
5 Sept	Boeing estimates world demand for new aircraft over the next 20 years will be 36,000 units (China 17% of total, valued at $870 billion).
9 Sept	First visit to China by Susan Rice, Obama’s principal National Security advisor.
	US Tennis Open: Serena Williams won the Womens Singles (her 18th Grand Slam – Margaret Court holds the record of 24); Marin Cilic beat Kei Nishikori to win his first Grand Slam.
10 Sept	British Consul General in Shanghai married his same-sex partner.
11 Sept	Apple launch of iPhone6 & 6+, and new iPad and Apple Watch (but won’t be available China mainland for another month). 10 million units sold first weekend.  Looks as if Apple’s revenue this year will top 2013’s $171 billion.
12 Sept	South African Oscar Pistorius (‘Blade Runner’) found guilty of manslaughter, not murder, in the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
15 Sept	Children in Gaza return to school, after devastating 50-day conflict with Israel in which 2,100 Palestinians were killed, 10,000 injured, and 100,000 made homeless.
	Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced 600 army and airforce personnel will join fight against Islamic State jihadists.  France extends combat area against IS following beheading of Herve Gourdel.
25 Sept	Indian ‘Orbiter spacecraft’ reached Mars.
30 Sept	‘Occupy Central’ protests start in Hong Kong.  Much media coverage overseas, but little in China itself.
	10th China-Japan Forum concludes with call for greater understanding.  Recent surveys show that nearly 90% of Chinese don’t like or trust Japanese, and vice versa.
	United Nations meeting on Climate Change (part of UNGA in New York)

(b)   Domestic, in China

2 Sept	Price of residential real estate fell for the 4th consecutive month.  Still, prices in August 2014 were, on average, 3.2% higher than a year earlier.
3 Sept	Beijing International Airport handles an average of 88 flights per hour.
	70% of the e-cigarettes in the world are made in China.  Some local groups are calling for the same restrictions on e-cigarettes sold here.
	The Politburo of the CPC announced reductions in salaries and allowances paid to executives in Sate Owned Enterprises (SOEs).  There are 113 ‘Central SOEs’ (‘the backbone of the economy’) and thousands of others.  Average executive salary in 2011 was $110,000 (plus allowances). The SOEs are often in monopoly situations, and become inefficient and sometimes corrupt.
5 Sept	The Ministry of Education proposed changes to the National College Entrance Exam (Gao Kao). In future only Chinese, English and Math will be tested in the Gao Kao, with other subjects (eg history, physics) results based on whole year’s work.
8 Sept	Sale of moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival (last weekend) dropped dramatically this year, blamed on the Government’s anti-extravagance campaign.
10 Sept	Popular gold-medallist hurdler Liu Xiang married actress Ge Tian.
11 Sept	China’s suicide rate has fallen from 23 per 100,000 population in 1995 to 9 per 100,000 in 2014.
	In 2013 Beijing’s subways carried 3.2 billion passengers, and buses carried 4.6 billion.
	The Chinese government announced that commencing 1 April 2015 all programs on video websites will face the same regulations as TV channels.  They must get prior approval for all programs; and programs which glamorise or promote violence, sex, gambling, and superstition will be banned. Foreign shows should not exceed 30% content. The 4 most popular American programs on video websites at present are: The Strain 67 million viewers; Two broke girls 55m; The last ship 44m; House of cards 41m; Masters of sex 35m.
12 Sept	Two foreign car companies were fined for price-fixing: Audi $40m; Chrysler $32m.
13 Sept	On 1 March 2014 a gang of 8 terrorists from Xinjiang killed 31 people at the Kunming Railway Station. Four were shot by police at the scene, three (Iskander Ehet, Turgun Tohtunyaz & Hasany Mohamad) have now received the death penalty, and a pregnant woman (Patigul Tohti) was sentenced to life imprisonment.
15 Sept	Police are investigating websites which promote foreign brides (mainly from Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia).  Seen as virtual human trafficking.  Problem is that there are about 117 boys born for every 100 girls in China, and a shortage of potential brides has developed for young men.
	The 27th anniversary of the first email sent from China (to Germany). Now China has an estimated 632 million internet users.  Hard to imagine life without email!
	Crack-down on public service “ghost employees” (people who are paid, but don’t work). Estimated 100,000 nation-wide (55,000 in Hebei Province, 28,000 in Sichuan, 15,000 in Henan, etc).
26 Sept	Bank of China forecasts 7.4% GDP growth in 2014 (down from 7.5%).
30 Sept	China’s international trade in the first 8 months of 2014: exports $1.48 trillion; imports $1.28 trillion.
	After a 14 year absence, Microsoft released the Xbox One which is produced in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.  Cost of base model $600 (ten games included).  Sony Playstation is expected to follow soon.
	Government licensed 5 new private banks: Jincheng Bank; Minshang Bank; WeBank; Shanghai Huarui Bank; and MYbank (principal shareholders in MYbank are the Alibaba Group 30% and Fushun Group 25%).

Well, that's it for this post.

Next week I hope to do a post on my teaching schedule, and a summary of my students.

Best wishes, and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao
www.upc.edu.cn
Monday 20 October 2014

7 October 2014

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our trip to Dalian, Liaoning Province, 2 - 6 October 2014, during the National Day holidays.

Chinese have two main public holidays every year: a week for Spring Festival (aka Chinese New Year) which usually occurs around early February) and a week for National Day starting on 1 October.  These are known as 'golden weeks' because they are relatively long breaks.  There are also shorter breaks for Labor Day (1 May), Tomb Sweeping Day, and Mid-Autumn Festival (in September).

Big State Owned Enterprises give their employees an additional 5 days a year ('emergency leave'). Foreign companies are more generous.  But if you work in a service industry (like a shop or restaurant) or in construction you would be lucky to get any recreational leave at all.

I read in the China Daily that paid leave was actually mandated in 1995, but never enforced. In a survey, two-thirds of respondents admitted that they never took paid leave, even though it was in their work contracts, because they feared being seen as disloyal to the company. Last year the State Council (equivalent to our Cabinet) announced that a national paid leave scheme would be implemented by 2020.

Chinese are amazed/incredulous when they hear that all Australians get 4 weeks paid leave on top of the public holidays.

Vera and I have done relatively little travel around China.  During the long summer and winter university vacations we return to Australia to see family and friends.  Weekends are too short, so that leaves the public holidays.  The problem is that everyone else is also travelling at that time and there are crowds everywhere.  Of course there are always people around in China, but it gets even crazier during holiday time.  Still, we've only got another 9 months in China so have to take our opportunities when they arise.

We decided to visit Dalian, a city in Liaoning Province.  Dalian is some 700 km due north of Qingdao, about like Melbourne to Sydney.  We'd heard good things about Dalian and wanted to see it for ourselves.

Map showing the location of Dalian in Liaoning Province.  It is about 700 km due north of Qingdao where we live (just over an hours flight).  Dalian is the second largest city in Liaoning, after the capital Shenyang.

A 'mega project' which apparently is under active consideration by the Chinese government: a 90 km under-water tunnel linking Liaoning and Shandong Provinces.  90 km! Seems totally far-fetched, but this is China and they like big engineering projects.  Just think, in ten years you might be able to drive from Qingdao to Dalian!

Another reason for wanting to visit Dalian was to see Port Arthur (Chinese name: Lushun).  It is about 60 km south of Dalian, almost at the end of the Liaotong Peninsula.  I'm not sure when I first heard about Port Arthur - perhaps in a history class in High School? or was it in a Graham Greene or Somerset Maugham novel? - somehow it had entered my sub-consciousness and I wanted to see it.

This map shows the location of Port Arthur / Lushun, about 60 km south of Dalian.  Our university campus is located about 30 km south-west of Qingdao City, on the other side of Jiaozhou Bay.

Dalian and nearby Lushun were ceded to Japan after the 1894-5 Sino-Japan War (the Port Arthur Massacre of Chinese civilians in November 1894 was widely condemned). Pressure from a tripartite group consisting of Germany, France and Russia forced Japan to return the Liaodong Peninsula to the Qing Emperor.

But Russia had its own agenda - the Czar wanted a warm-water port in the East.  No sooner was the territory back in Chinese hands, then Russia negotiated a long term lease. They called the city Dalny.

The locals must have been confused: in a matter of 3 years their place was Chinese, then Japanese, then Chinese again, and finally Russian.

When Japan defeated Russia in the 1904-5 War, it was ceded to the victor.  The Japanese called it Dairen.  The area remained under Japanese control until August 1945 when the Japanese surrendered to the Soviet Army which had recently entered Manchuria.  In 1950 the Soviets transferred control to the new PRC, although Soviet military forces stayed on until 1955 (after the conclusion of the Korean War).

Soviet sailors take over Port Arthur, August 1945

We had 4 nights (5 days) in Dalian, and were able to get a reasonable idea of the area.

In many ways Dalian is similar to our city of Qingdao.  They both have populations of about 5 million; both are coastal cities; both have been rated "most livable city in China" in recent years; and both have historical links to foreign powers (Qingdao to Germany; Dalian to Russia and Japan).

Construction in both cities is booming.  One gets the feeling that other places can't be as busy as here in Qingdao - but we were astounded at the amount of building in Dalian (and this must be going on everywhere in China).  I am baffled by the property market in China.  Who is buying and occupying all these commercial and residential properties?  Some commentators are warning of excess supply, yet developers are pushing ahead as if there were no tomorrow.

An interesting bit of trivia about Dalian is that Harry Triguboff was born there on 3 March 1933. Nicknamed "High Rise Harry" because of his fortune in real estate, in 2014 Forbes ranked him the 6th richest Australian (net worth $6 billion).

Like many 'White Russians' the Triguboffs fled after the Communist Revolution and ended up in China. In 1947 young Harry was sent to Scots College in Sydney. Subsequently he attended university in the UK, and worked in Israel and South Africa and came back to Australia in 1960.   He tried his hand at various businesses before building a block of apartments in Meriton Street, Gladesville in 1968 ... and the rest is history.

Here are some photos of our time in Dalian.

We used the excellent public bus system. We were delighted that the bus routes were shown in pinyin (Western alphabet) as well as in Chinese - made it much easier for us to follow.

The center of Dalian is Zhongshan Square - actually a huge circle where major roads converge.  Some nice old European-style buildings face the Square, including the venerable old Dalian Hotel (above) which featured in the movie "The Last Emperor".

The ornate old metal lamp posts around Zhongshan Square feature clocks.

A view of the city from the top of attractive "Labour Park" about 1.5 km from the city center.  Many fine hotels: Kempinsky; Intercontinental; Nikko; Ramada; Swish; Crystal Orange.  We stayed in a chain called Home Inn (Ru Jia) for $50 a night. 

Many attractive floral displays in Labour Park.  The entry charge was $3 for adults; students and people over 60 paid half-price; 70+ free.  It was a nice day, and crowds everywhere.  Good to see Chinese families enjoying themselves and relaxing. Lots of activities on offer and plenty of food stalls - Chinese love to snack.

A huge replica football recalled a time when Dalian's soccer team were the champions of China. A young couple were in a passionate embrace on the grass - oblivious to the thousands of people wandering around.  Privacy is a precious commodity in China, but couldn't they have chosen a more secluded spot?  Giant ferris wheel in the large amusement area in one corner of the Park.  

We walked past the Swish Hotel.  Any similarity to Swiss Hotels is purely coincidental, I'm sure. 

"Food Street" was full of a lively crowd at night.  Lots of delicious seafood on offer.  

One day we went to Xinghai Beach, a big recreational area with fairground, bungee jumping, etc, about 10 km from the city center.  The beach itself was pebbles rather than sand.  Although the water didn't look very clean to us, some people were swimming.  

A couple taking wedding photos at Xinghai Beach. Chinese like taking photos with 'foreign friends'. Many weddings take place during the National Day holidays as family and friends have time to attend.

Another couple taking wedding photos.

Another view of Xinghai Beach.  Vera is looking at the bungee jumping platform & flying fox.  In the distance is a huge new bridge under construction.  

Big crowds everywhere at Xinghai Beach, visiting the beach, fun fair, and aquariums.

It was about a 3 km walk from the end of the beach along the waterfront to Xinghai Square. Marinas with expensive boats.  Some very nice villas and luxury apartment blocks; obviously expensive real estate right on the water.

The extraordinary "Castle Hotel" built on a hill overlooking the ocean on one side and Xinghai Square on the other.  Xinghai Square is reputed to be the largest public square in the world (1.1 million sq m).  We walked from one end to the other, and can attest to its enormous size!  

The impressive Grand Hyatt opened 3 weeks ago on the waterfront at Xinghai Square (standard rooms $200 a night).  Vera couldn't decide which car she preferred: the Ferrari or the Maeserati parked in front of the Grand Hyatt.  The Sheraton, not far away, will no doubt feel the new competition.

We visited "Russian Street" which is near Dalian Railway Station.  It is about 500m long, and lined with shops and stalls selling Russian chocolate, cigarettes and lighters, fur hats, etc.  Some old Russian buildings. The old mansion (above) housed an art gallery - excellent exhibition of photographs.

A view of Russian Street.  Crowded. Pedestrian plaza.  

A group of friends taking photos on Russian Street. Domestic tourism is flourishing; we saw many groups of young women like this one.  

A wedding party in the ornate function room of the "1896 Railway Hotel" near Russian St.  It is a boutique hotel, very well presented. 

The bride and groom (standing behind) taking photo with relatives.

Port Arthur

We spent one day visiting Lushun (Port Arthur), about 60 km south of Dalian.  The bus took a bit over an hour and cost $1.20 each.

In 1860, during the 2nd Opium War, the frigate HMS Algerine commanded by Lieutenant William Arthur surveyed a harbour at the end of the Liaotong Peninsula. William Arthur had joined the Royal Navy at the age of 15.  He was promoted to Lieutenant at the age of 24, Commander at 31, and Captain at 37.  In 1885, aged 55, he retired with the rank of Rear Admiral.

The harbour subsequently became known as Port Arthur.  It was a British naval base for 20 years; later the Russians took over; then the Japanese; the Soviets and finally the PRC.

On the bus we got talking to two young women, Ma Jing and Huang Yin, who were visiting Dalian from Zhengzhou in Henan Province, and we decided to team up to see Lushun.  When we arrived in Lushun a local taxi driver persuaded us that he knew the city well, and so we agreed to hire him for 4 hours ($26).

That turned out to be a big mistake, as he basically took us to tourist spots most of which involved relatively expensive entry charges.  Too late, we surmised that he probably got kick-backs.  But, on reflection, he was probably doing what was 'normal' - the vast majority of Chinese visitors would take a theme park over a historical site any day.  First he took us to a beach park, which he assured us had the best entertainment in the district.  The entry charge was $8 each, but there wasn't much to see or do.  They advertised an "Alligator Show" which we attended.

The show comprised 3 acts: firstly a skit performed by dwarfs lampooning the Japanese invasion of the area (a Chinese derogatory term for Japanese is 'dwarfs', which of course was not lost on the audience); the second act was a mime-singing show by two lady-boys (yes, really!); and the third act involved a couple of small alligators.

The whole performance was so bizarre that it was actually quite amusing.

From there he took us to inspect the infamous Japanese prison where many Chinese had been incarcerated, tortured and killed during the long years of Japanese rule.

After that our taxi driver took us to see remnants of the siege of Port Arthur (August - December 1904) when the Japanese defeated the Russians.  But it was getting late and another high entry charge was involved so we gave that a miss and went back to the bus station for the ride home.

 Here are some photos of our day in Lushun (Port Arthur).

The beach entertainment area we were taken to by our taxi-guide. We climbed the 'great wall'; there was also horse riding on offer, and a go-cart track.

With our new friends Ma Jing and Huang Yin, at the 'Great Wall'.  Ma Jing graduated in Auditing last June (Kaifang university), and is now working at the Agricultural Bank of China in her home town of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province.  Huang Yin is Ma's sister-in-law; she is a public servant in Zhengzhou.

The beach featured various figures of sea creatures, like these giant crabs.

The Alligator Show started with a skit about the Japanese occupation, performed by three dwarfs.  

One of the lady-boy performers.  This one spoke with a Thai accent.  They mimed a couple of songs and then posed for photos with people in the crowd (cost per photo  $1.60).

The other lady-boy performer.  It was bizarre seeing such a show in a remote corner of China.  

A corridor in the infamous Japanese prison in Port Arthur.

The prison's  "Hanging Room".  Bodies were buried in boxes in crouching position - see skeleton.

And so ended an interesting visit to Dalian, Liaoning Province.  We were lucky with the weather - the first afternnon was windy, overcast and cold but the following day the sun came out and we had good weather.  Overall impression: an attractive city, but on balance we prefer Qingdao and especially Huangdao where our campus is located.

OK folks, that's it for this post.

Stay well, and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao
www.upc.edu.cn
Tuesday, 7 October 2014

PS  What news of our 4 grandsons?

The Roberts family is now in Broome, Western Australia.  Their adventure has gone well so far, except when Tom fell 2 metres onto his back.  He was badly bruised and shaken, but has recovered now.  To check their blog, click HERE

Sid, Kurt & Nate at El Questro Gorge on the Gibb River Road, far north of Western Australia

And little Eddie continues on his jet-setting ways.  Last weekend Andrew & Caroline and Eddie celebrated the Idul Adha public holiday in Lombok.  They will transfer from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong later this month.

Eddie in Lombok, 5 October 2014. Almost 7 months, growing and changing fast.

1 October 2014

Gentlefolk,

October 1 is China's National Day. China is celebrating Mao's proclamation of the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949, 65 years ago, when the Communists prevailed over the Nationalists. The next 65 years have been a wild ride: from the collectivisation and Great Leap Forward of the 1950s, to the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 70s.  Finally sanity prevailed and Deng introduced the "reform & opening" which led to unprecedented economic growth - has any other country recorded an average of 9.9% p.a. over 30 years?  

Two telling statistics: In 1950 life expectancy was 36 years (now 75 years); and the literacy rate was 20% (now 95%).

But I won't dwell on all that.  This post is mainly about the move to our new apartment.

New apartment

For the three years we have worked at the Qingdao campus of the China University of Petroleum we have lived in two identical adjoining rooms on the 4th floor of the campus 'guesthouse' (rooms are let to visitors for $16 per night; the foreign teachers all lived on the 4th floor as Chinese don't like the number 4).

The university has just completed a new building which will house many of the 900 foreign students and also the foreign teachers.  We moved our belongings last Sunday, and are still unpacking and settling in.  Many teething problems (such as no internet connection), but no doubt we'll get there in time.

The positives about the new place are: lift access; kitchen; and great views.   The main negatives: lack of storage space, and further from teaching buildings.

Although we now have a kitchen, we have become accustomed to eating in the student dining halls and will probably continue to do so most of the time.

Here are some photos of our former and new digs:

Our former digs comprised 2 identical adjoining rooms - this was our living room.  Both rooms had toilets, and big cupboards.  South facing, so plenty of sunlight.  We quite enjoyed living here.

This was the bedroom in our former digs.

Vera spent 3 weeks preparing for the move.  Here are some of the 20 boxes she used to pack up our things.  We arrived in China with the bare essentials - it is surprising how much one accumulates over time.  

Vera on her bike in front of Residential Building #1, our former address.  She bought the bike from a Russian teacher who left, and is really enjoying cruising around the campus and along the esplanade of Tang Dao Wan Bay.

The new apartment has a kitchen, a small living area (see above), one bedroom and a bathroom.  In total area it is probably a little smaller than the two rooms we occupied before.  But it is a small, self-contained, one-bedroom apartment.  The orientation is south, so we get plenty of light, and the views are great (see below).  We are on the 13th floor and there is a lift, so no more trudging up and down four flights of stairs.

The bedroom (& bathroom) in our new apartment.  Back in June I asked the administration to give us a bed without a frame, as I like to stretch out.  Guess what?  The bed we ended up with has a frame!  Murphy's law.  Solution - they gave us a second mattress to raise the level.  It feels a bit strange being so high, but maybe we'll get used to it.

The view from the balcony window, looking south.  We are across the road from Tang Dao Wan Bay.  You can see Cow Island which is near the mouth of the Bay.  The open ocean (The Yellow Sea) is on the other side of the peninsula in the distance.

The view from our balcony window, looking north, towards the end of the Bay.  

I managed to get the camera around the open window for this shot.  This is the view directly in front of us.  The white building across the Bay is the 5 star Wyndham Hotel (formerly the Kempinsky Hotel) at Silver Beach.  You can just see the Yellow Sea on the other side of the Wyndham Hotel.  I usually ride my bike around the Bay and the peninsula, as it gets little traffic.  In a 20 km ride I only have to cross two roads.  And being right on the coast means the air is relatively good much of the time.  We really are fortunate to be in such a good location.  

A panoramic view from our balcony window.  The balconies are all enclosed, which is a pity now - but the extra protection will no doubt be a blessing when the icy winds blow in winter. 

Qingdao TV

Yesterday I spent two hours with a journalist (Zhao Qing Li) and cameraman (Yin Yan Wei) from Qingdao TV.  Three foreign teachers at universities in Qingdao received Awards as "national model teachers" back in April, and the TV channel is doing a 30 minute program on the three of us, to be aired next month.  Zhu Shan (Susie), the teacher who translated my book, participated in the interview, as did three former students: Li Lu Jing (International Trade major); Li Su (Economics major) and Bu Ping (Management major).

Interview with Qingdao TV.  From left: Li Lu Jing, Li Su, Liu Li Na (UPC International Office); Bu Ping; Zhu Shan; me; and Zhao Qing Li.

Vera's former pupil

When we were at the Dongying campus 5 years ago Vera taught English at the local primary school. Her star pupil was a young lad called Zhang Ya Xuan.  He is visiting Huangdao over the National Day holidays and we had lunch with him and his father today.

Professor Zhang (UPC Geology faculty); Vera; and Ya Xuan.  What a difference 5 years make: then Ya Xuan was up to Vera's shoulder - now he towers over her!  He is 16 now, in the first year of Senior High School, and an impressive young man.  When we asked what he wanted to do in the future, he said that he was only sure that he didn't want to study Geology or attend this university.  His father took it all in good spirit!

Han Han

A few posts ago I described Yao Chen, a Chinese actress who has the most "followers" in China (and probably the world).  I'd now like to introduce the person who many say is China's (and probably the world's ) most popular blogger.

He is a 32 year old Chinese who goes by the unlikely name of Han Han (English pronunciation Hun Hun). 

Han Han

I must confess that I hadn’t heard of him until he appeared on Time Magazine’s 2010 list of the world’s 100 most influential people.  I recognised the other three Chinese on Time's list but I had never heard of Han Han (he gets almost no mention in the official media, for reasons which will become clear). 

Han Han (Chinese: 韩寒; pinyin: Hán Hán) was born on 23 September 1982 in suburban Shanghai, the son of the editor of a small journal. 

His name comprises two different Chinese characters, although the pronunciation of both characters happens to be the same.  The first character is his family name ‘Han’ and the second character is his given name, also pronounced Han, which means ‘cold’.  

Often a child’s given name reflects the parent’s hopes for the child’s future (eg success or happiness).  But in this case HH’s parents probably selected his given name because of the alliterative combination with his surname.

As well as being China's (and the world’s) most popular blogger, Han Han is also a best-selling author, singer, professional rally driver, and now movie director. 

In 1999, during his first year of senior high school, HH won China's New Concept Writing Competition with his essay, ‘Seeing Ourselves in a Cup’, on the Chinese character.  Later that year he failed all subjects in the year-end examination (including Chinese), which caused a huge uproar. How could someone who was a total academic failure possibly win a prestigious literary award?  It was contrary to all tradition.

Han Han repeated the year, but failed everything again, and quit school.

HH's first novel, ‘Triple Door ‘(三重门), on his experience as a high school dropout in Shanghai, was published in 2000 when he was only 18 years old.  Millions of copies were sold and it became China's bestselling literary work in the previous 20 years.  He wrote five more books and many articles.

Older people find him puzzling and rude, but to young people, the so-called ‘Post 80s generation’, he is their torchbearer and hero.  They love his cleverness, his irreverence, his willingness to speak his mind, and his stinging humour.  He has been described as a combination of James Dean and Hemingway.

As HH got more involved in his other passion, rally car racing (he has won three championships with VW and now Subaru), his writing slowed and he started blogging.  At last count his Weibo blog recorded 599,675,895 hits.  Almost 600 million!  Only in China!

HH has a sharp wit, but he is careful to deliver his barbs through sarcasm and humorous anecdotes that obliquely take on corruption, censorship and everyday injustice.

He doesn’t spare officialdom.  He once described Communist Party officials as useless. “Their lives are nothing like ours,” he said. “The only thing they have in common with young people is that like us, they too have girlfriends in their 20s, although theirs are on the side.” 

Ouch!

I’m surprised he hasn’t been muzzled.  They could be forgiven for not taking him seriously at first - after all he was just an uneducated kid - perhaps they thought he would be a passing fad.  But he became popular overnight and his fan-base is huge and loyal.

In September 2009 HH participated in the World Rally Championship in Australia.  On returning, he wrote a long article unfavourably comparing conditions in China with those in Australia. 

HH is no angel.  He is married, and they have a 4 year old daughter.  Last year he admitted to having a girlfriend, which led to a chorus of criticism for 'loose morals'.

For years HH refused approaches to translate his work into English (he thought it would make him more vulnerable).  But in 2012 "The Generation", a collection of blogs and essays, was published. 

The cover of HH's first English language book "This Generation".

HH has now turned his attention to movies.  On 24 July 2014 his first effort at directing was released in China.  The film's title is Hou Hui Wu Qi (English title "The Continent").  It is about two young mates who drive across China, and their experiences during the road trip.  Some critics have canned the movie, but the public have voted with their wallets - it grossed over $100 million in the first month!

HH continues to amaze and excite.  He is a modern-day folk-hero; a legend in his own lifetime.

...

Well, that's it for this post.  Vera & I are off to Dalian tomorrow for a few days during the National Day holidays.  Will do a post on that trip when we get back.

Best wishes, and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao
www.upc.edu.cn
Wednesday, 1 October 2014